Kid Cudi’s “Passion” deserves more praise

Kid Cudi released his sixth studio album “Passion, Pain, and Demon Slayin’” on Dec. 16. Over three months later, I am still shocked to see the lack of acclamation he has received since.

Like many artists in the industry, there is almost always an absence of complete cognition between what the artist is trying to convey and what the audience hears. It is vital to have some sort of understanding of what the artist is going through behind the glitz and glamour.

Just a year before, Kid Cudi released “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven.” The 26-song album had fans confused and disappointed, which could also lead to why many didn’t even give his newest album a chance. Lyrics like, “hate the drugs but I love the numb,” “everything, everyone sucks,” and “I’ll be happy getting sh*tfaced by myself” all established a befuddling tone set apart from the music he has made before. The rock star vibe he tried to administer mimics those from hip-hop artists in the past, and did not go well with fans either.

As a result of the huge amount of backlash he received, he went silent. We didn’t hear much from the Grammy winner until this past October when he announced he would be checking into a rehabilitation center for depression and suicidal thoughts. Suddenly, those despicable lyrics became a true depiction of his cry for help.

Since, countless fans and musical artists have reached out to show their support, which he thanks one by one on his Facebook page. “Passion, Pain, and Demon Slayin’” doesn’t steer much further from the pain he tried to describe on his previous album. Yet, it was the way in which he used his lyrics to illustrate his struggles as well as connect to the everyday person which made this album so phenomenal.

His use of syntactic ambiguity in the words that he delivered was so well considered and astounding. The song “Releaser“ stood out to me the most with lyrics like, “You know where to find me” and “Your glory is blinding.” Knowing his past, this is a sheer obvious reference to his drug use. However, these lyrics from the distressed, misunderstood artist could also be interpreted to just about anything someone considers a “drug.” Something that is ever so alluring that the person doesn’t realize it is actually causing them harm, thus the “glory” being “blinding.”

It’s no surprise that Kid Cudi is a gifted individual who shares a remarkable vision for creativity that puts him on the pedestal with artists like Kanye West and Travis Scott. Although he may have steered a wrong path in his vision, he has successfully found a medium in expressing his emotions through exotically produced music and ambiguous lyrics.

9 Comments

Releaser is by far one of the best tracks on the album but it not an “obvious” drug reference. If you listen to Cudi and just the mood of the track, he’s referencing God. Throughout his career he has done so, especially on this album. Listen s litter closer.

Man I’ve been a die hard cudi fan every since day one even liked speedin bullet. I agree with a lot of what this page says except I think releaser is making more of a spiritual reference to Cudi’s belief in God; very similar to the song upper room off the WZRD album. Cudi never got radio plays to begin with; combine that with the negative response speedin bullet received all of his singles haven’t seemed to make much noise. All that being said this album was ridiculous. Cudi’s creativity is out of this world. Not only are his humms a standout feature of his talent but the way he combines singing with rap is completely different than the way any other artist does. From beginning to end this album has everything Cudi. From songs repetive catchy songs like mature nature and dance for eternity to singing like kitchen or spitting bars like does it or distant fantasies. In my opinion Surfin is as catchy as any song and it alone could have been so much bigger than it will be, but as I previously stated Cudi doesn’t get the attention he deserves. This album is a very close contender for my favorite Cudi album all time (MOTM2). I was happy to see a lot of Cudi fans giving him praise in his return to rap. I wish by design would have been a single from the album; it too could have been much bigger. Cudi has a very loyal fan base where most of his numbers come from. The up side to that is that this album’s numbers will run up from consecutive plays from fans who can listen to him all day. I agree I think this album should have blown up and been much bigger than it has been, but the fact that it hasn’t doesn’t define the greatness of this album. Cudi has stated he won’t finish the motm trilogy because expectations for it are too high; I think he could have named this motm 3 and fans couldn’t be more satisfied. I hope he has gotten some of his confidence back and continues to make music for as long as possible.

Day n night is the reason everyone opens up about real fellings in music now, sure Kanye talked about relatable stuff like school and hating his job u can only feel a certain way about that for a short time, cudi makes everlasting music for sad and lonely people of all over the globe rich or poor old or young, rappers like Kendrick and cole rap about stuff u see in plain sight in the news, cudi reminds us that everyone has issues that nobody can see. That punk ass wave ridin drake better STFU

This album was incredible. Finally we have someone release music that expands hip hop and gives us something different, and of course it’s Cudi. More people should have listened to this PP&Ds with an open mind. Thank you for doing what you can to spread the word.

Thank You for this article. This album is absolutely an amazing piece of art! That album cover is beautiful too… all smiles. Seriously, I agree with Tito Anton response that all of his music has some sort of spiritual undertone to it as well. It’s beautiful. I listen to this man’s music everyday. All of his music. When you can wake up at 5am in the morning, with a tired body and mind from the previous day. Yet…put on some Kid Cudi music and transition in mind, body, and spirit, it’s a recipe for a great day. Thank You Scott for making me feel God, beautiful and sexy on a daily basis.

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The Louisville Cardinal is the independent weekly student newspaper of the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.[1] It is published every Tuesday during the academic year and once in late April for distribution throughout the summer. The Cardinal was founded in 1926 and has maintained financial and editorial independence since 1980. The Cardinal serves as an outlet for aspiring journalists. Ralph Merkel is the adviser and Kyeland Jackson is Editor in Chief.